Awaken regularly features creative writing authors who exemplify excellent research and engaging writing. For its first edition, Awaken has selected Alysia Yi and John Van Swearingen to highlight within the author spotlight section.
Our first interview is with Alysia Yi. Alysia Yi is a 2017 graduate from Wake Forest University School of Law. She completed her undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkley. You can read her piece “Without License” here.
Tell me a little about yourself (why law school, what practice area, what you like to do for fun, etc.).
I’m from a couple different places (California and South Korea), and I came to Wake Law to learn how to analyze problems deeply and protect people. I’m not sure what area I will be practicing in after I am licensed, but I think I will end up practicing in more than one area of law. In my free time, I enjoy reading, finding new hiking trails to try out . . . and I’m trying to learn how to grow a garden!
What interests you about bioethics?
I like the “connectedness” of bioethics – the way it challenges us to expand our minds in the process of doing what we hope is right for each individual patient and humanity as a whole.
Why did you choose the bioethics topic you did?
I grew up thinking that in the modern world, people give birth in hospitals. That’s just how it’s done. But a few years ago, I learned that people were choosing home births and water births with midwives and doulas. It seemed bizarre, and it intrigued me! Birth is how we enter the planet, so it’s an important process, but I realized that I didn’t really know much about it. I wanted to understand.
What was the research process like?
It was like matching puzzle pieces. I wanted to understand the history of how women gave birth, how doctors came to approach birth the way they did, mothers’ perspectives, midwives’ perspectives, and how laws eventually made it much harder in some states for women to give birth in the way that our ancestors came into the world.
What do you feel is missing from the conversation on the topic you chose to write about?
After birth, we all want the baby and the mother to be healthy. But in many cases, there may be alternative ways to the traditional hospital experience that parents might prefer. And the question is, how open or flexible are we willing to be as a community (as doctors, hospitals, the state, etc.) to facilitate the birthing experience mothers choose? Where should the line be drawn?
Tell me about the medium you chose to tell this story in. Why did you choose to present the issue(s) in that way?
We can all relate to birth in some way. A story makes it easier to imagine ourselves in the shoes of a character that represents someone we would care about in real life.
In addition to the issue(s) addressed in your story, what other bioethics topics do you think are of importance today?
This may be outside of the scope of bioethics, but the preservation of the environment. Now more than ever, it’s important to work towards balancing our endeavors in the advancement of the human race with restoration and preservation efforts of the elements that make our planet habitable.
Bioethics related and beyond, what is currently on your reading list?
The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 ¼ Years Old by Hendrik Groen
Our second interview is with John Van Swearingen. John is a current student at Wake Forest University School of Law; he graduated from The Citadel in 2011. You can read his piece “A Platonic Dialogue: Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis” here.
Tell me a little about yourself (why law school, what practice area, what you like to do for fun, etc.).
I worked with lawyers for several years before I made the decision to apply to law school. My first non-law enforcement job after college was in a highly-regulated industry; working face-to-face with attorneys on a regular basis piqued my interest. I applied to, and eventually worked for, a law firm down in Charleston, South Carolina, where I worked as a legal assistant. I eventually moved to a larger firm, and that was the final “nail in the coffin.” I was extremely interested in the work the attorneys handled, and I knew I wanted to get a JD.
Some of my work before law school was in the debtor-creditor arena, and I am pursuing work in that practice area. It’s one of the few areas of law where equitable principles can be just as powerful as legal ones.
I hike, fish, and hunt as often as the weather and work allows. The Piedmont Triad, and to a greater extent, central and western North Carolina, is an ideal place to live and work.
What interests you about bioethics?
It was one of the few classes in law school where I was able to indulge in thinking about “what should be,” and not merely “what is.” Many of the topics discussed, e.g. death-with-dignity legislation or regulation of medical trials, focused on what future legislation could or should look like. That was a big difference from our doctrinal courses, which tend to focus on the existing legal landscape of American law.
Why did you choose the bioethics topic you did?
With respect to both sides of the political spectrum, there is a huge divide on how society views the prospect of genetics. It has the potential to be as politicized as abortion, as it invokes, not only notions of life and autonomy, but the innate rights of personhood and self-determination. I wanted to explore the arguments on the topic from both sides.
What were you surprised to learn?
The technology in this area is (and perhaps this should not be as surprising as it turned out to be) rapidly outpacing the ability of regulators and legislators to keep up.
What do you feel is missing from the conversation on the topic you chose to write about?
I wanted to present a philosophical discussion that didn’t hinge on party politics or purely religious sentiments (the issues that plague the partisan divides on, e.g., death-with-dignity laws or abortion).
Tell me about the medium you chose to tell this story in. Why did you choose to present the issue(s) in that way?
I chose a Socratic dialogue format because, having read several such dialogues in college, I believed it would allow me to explore disagreement (even irreconcilable philosophical views) in a manner that maintained a sense of non-politicization.
In addition to the issue(s) addressed in your story, what other bioethics topics do you think are of importance today?
I would love to see the national attitude on death-with-dignity legislation step away from a discussion rooted in religious mores and step towards a discussion on palliative care and self-determination. In college, I interned with the Sheriff’s Department Forensics Unit in my home county. I saw several instances where persons with severe permanent disabilities or inoperable degenerative conditions took their own lives. Florida did not have, and still does not have, a “death-with-dignity” law in place empowering people to involve their healthcare providers and families in an organized and peaceful discussion on palliative care, hospice planning, and the afflicted person’s wishes. Without those kinds of options, the end results were consistently troubling, violent, and sad.
Bioethics related and beyond, what is currently on your reading list?
I am currently finishing up Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell. Mr. Connell writes about the events leading up to the Massacre at Little Bighorn in a way that discusses, in a broader sense, the development of the American West following the Civil War. I am looking forward to my next read, A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.
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